I took my first crack at making the insert for the self watering container today. The hardest part was cutting a square into circles that would fit snuggly into the bucket. Yes, I just said snuggly.
Tools that I needed:
Razor blade
Scissor
Pen
Thumbtack
Rope or string
Something to measure water
Materials:
5-gallon bucket
Coin cup to use as my wicking basket
1 12″x12″...

So in a matter of two days I’ve greatly expanded this project from a small garden on my fire escape in Manhattan to a large garden in Brooklyn and my parents in Staten Island.
That’s a lot for someone who has zero experience in this, but that’s how I do. When I get involved in something I go full steam ahead.
Now that I have all of these spots,...

Took the day off from work today to spend the day with my gram and to negotiate the land space with her. Before I headed out to her, I measured out the space of my fire escape garden. Not too bad about 36″x”12″. That should be enough for about three buckets without getting in the way. Just need to figure out how many soda bottle planters we can...

As you can see, by this time I am expert at getting buckets. Once I get my Flip Video camera I’ll have to record and educate you on my ways. For now just be in awe of my splendor.
I’ve also been doing more reading into building the self watering containers and what can be used. As of now, I am going to go with the bucket in bucket or the plastic tote in plastic tote approach. Those seem to be the ones that best suit my needs.
...

It’s about a week since the compost pile was first turned. When I first opened up the can the lid was sweating. That is supposedly a good thing because the compost is supposed to heat up, so it can do it’s thing.
I took the broomstick and shovel to it again to get the air circulating and to mix up the browns and greens.
It seems to progressing nicely, so I threw a big heaping pile of fresh food scraps onto the pile and layered the browns on that. My guess is that I should have compost to use pretty soon.
...

First off, I scored my first bucket last night. On the way back from the movies (I checked out Anvil and highly recommend to any 80s metalheads out there). I saw one laying out next to a dumpster, so I snagged it. Soaked it over night in some baking soda and vinegar. Like new. My Gram sure is smart.
Besides being a ridiculously gorgeous day outside today, it was a productive one as well. Picked up the Incredible Vegetables from Self Watering Containers book from the library.
I went to the park, laid out in the grass and started to plow...

I am taking this project beyond my small fire escape garden and back to my Brooklyn roots in Canarsie. Yup, I’ll be growing a vegetable garden in Brooklyn. What?
A few weeks ago my grandmother offered up her backyard to grow what I wanted. The offer was turned down because I didn’t think that I’d have the time to tend to it, and I wouldn’t expect my 90-year old grandmother to take care of it. My gram still lives in Canarsie, which is about an hour commute from me.
Now that I’ve come across self watering...

The following instructions on how to make a compost bin can be scaled up or down based on the space that you have. Since I was dealing with the small space of my kitchen, I used a smaller 10 gallon garbage can. If you have more space, you can use a bigger can. The same concepts apply.
Making your own compost is a great way to cut into your out of pocket costs when starting a vegetable garden.
The tools and materials to build an indoor compost bin:
Tools
Drill with 1/4″ bit
Materials
10 gallon metal garbage can
Black and white...

by your idea
After some research, I got more info on the self watering containers. The Homegrown Evolution had a great resource on Self Irrigating Planters posted on April 5.
One site that I checked out, Instructables, had a few different variations. One using 2 liter soda bottles and plastic totes. I like it cheap and green. Fits the criteria.
Before I got too far ahead of myself, I had to talk to my roommate to see if he’d let me put these containers out on the fire escape since it’s out of his window. Luckily, he and I...

For the past few days I’ve been lamenting in my stupidity of building a window garden in a spot that gets no sun. Smart move on my part. Good job.
But things done changed. I was trolling around on this here internet for what I can possibly grow or do. I came across the idea of self watering planters. Most importantly this video:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZUCxBHeq04
The basic concept of self watering containers is that the water is on the bottom of the container and the soil above. There is a separator between the two and a...

by TomÃ¡s Fano
Great. Got the compost going and the shelves built. Walked down to the Farmers Market at Union Square today to talk to some of the farmers about what I grow on my newly built window garden. To sum it up real quick – nothing.
Yup, that’s right nothing can be grown out there. It gets about two-three hours of indirect sunlight a day on...

The compost bin is set up in my kitchen. Wanted to keep the momentum going and build the shelves for the garden.
First thing I had to do was to measure the area of the window garden. Wasn’t sure exactly what dimensions were required so took a bunch of different ones, hoping that all or a combo of them would be good enough. You can see my masterpiece above.
Gathered my list of what I needed and headed to the local hardware store.
Tools for Building the Window Garden
Saw
High gloss paint
Paint roller
Pen or marker to markup the...

When I first moved into my apartment, my roommate had a small window garden. It was a shelf that bridged the areas between the window in the living room and my room. It was a small area that he use to grow plants.
On a rainy winter night, the wood had enough and collapsed. It happened while I was home and the crash scared the shit out of me.
Personally, I was never...